In an unusual act to improve their fortunes, competing Florida car audio retailers are banding together to hire a sales trainer.
The trainer, Del Ellis, ran an award winning car audio shop and has led several seminars at the annual MERA KnowledgeFest. He claims that some businesses have more than doubled their sales following his training, for which he usually charges $3,500 for 3 days.
The Florida retailers, led by Parish Tanner of Ocala Car Audio, are collectively flying Ellis to Tampa to hold a one-day seminar at rep MAG Sales. The first 4 retailers to sign up 4 or more salesmen will get additional training at their store. The fee is $150 per salesman.
Tanner doesn’t mind that the shop down the street might also get the same sales training.
“If a hack shop has a customer that comes in and has a bad experience, it pushes the customer out of the industry and he may never come back….part of my goal is to make my region as strong as possible.”
Tanner, a former rep and distributor adds, “In sports, competition brings success. If you have a couple of good competitors, everyone does better.” For example, many local dealers can raise labor rates to be more profitable. “If my labor rate is $65 and the guy down the street is $35, he can bump it to $45 and still be the cheapest in town.”
For those who sign up for in-store training, Ellis will come to the shop, observe and critique and hold a follow-up meeting after the store closes.
During the training Ellis says, “We attack the telephone: how to get people in from the phone without quoting prices. If you are the cheapest in town, it makes it difficult to make more money, so why start with that?” He also addresses, “How to get someone in from the phone if they ask about a brand you don’t carry.”
He addresses how to greet people (Hint: He doesn’t suggestion ‘How can I help you.’”)
Tanner says, “I’d like to encourage other retailers in different regions to come together as a region to help grow their industry with training.”
Source: CEoutlook
This is a great idea! I’ve heard nothing but great things about Del Ellis. Good for you, Parish, for putting this together! I’d like to hear about this after the training is over.